


unexpected

by meltedicecream



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Gen, Omega Verse, Sibling Bonding, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Vanya Hargreeves-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 10:36:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19004050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meltedicecream/pseuds/meltedicecream
Summary: Vanya freezes. There's absolutely no way. She can't be. It's not even possible, there must be a mistake, it has to be a fluke.





	unexpected

Vanya Hargreeves is not a stranger to anxiety. In fact, she's very well acquainted with it, no matter how much father and mother tell her the pills help to calm her nerves. Her nerves don't seem to know that, as they have a mind of their own, gripping her by the throat even when she swallows every single pill right on time.

It's exhausting, and it's times like these where she desperately wishes that she was allowed a higher dose, even if father claims it would do significant damage to her brain. What kind of medicine does that in high doses, anyway? 

Klaus told her that opioids do, and she can only assume he means it from experience.

It's 6:45 AM, and Vanya is sitting on her bed, anxiety spiking her pulse and stirring butterflies in the depths of her stomach. Not even she understands why she's making a big deal out of this, because it's something she should be excited about, not dreading. She has been dreading it for far longer than she'd like to admit, though.

Her siblings' voices can be heard outside her door. The walls in the Hargreeves' mansion are thin, and Vanya never understood why- their father clearly had the money for a higher level of privacy, and yet the soundproofing was something out of a shitty motel somewhere downtown. She decides to tune in, making the muddle of familiar voices turn into a distinct four-way conversation with the shift of her attention.

"Yeah, right, Klaus. You're gonna be an omega, I'd bet my knives on it." Diego says, and Vanya can almost picture the look of offense on Klaus's face.

"No way! I'll at least be a beta." Comes the shrill retort that Vanya was waiting for. She thinks Diego is right.

"Diego and Luther are gonna be alphas, we know that. Klaus is for sure an omega, and so is Vanya." Allison pipes up, and Vanya physically startles at the mention of her name. She wasn't aware her siblings even mentioned her in conversation. It was a nice thought, but Allison's mention of her had a distinct dismissive tone that made her hang her head just a little lower. 

She gets up from where she'd been residing on her bed and walks toward her door, her footsteps soundless. She opens it, and this makes her siblings' conversation cease completely, their eyes all turning to her. It makes her skin itch, the amount of attention, but she ignores it. "So.." She tries, and her voice comes off as nearly a whisper. Diego is the first to look away from her. "Are you guys excited? You know, to get our ranks..?" She closes her door, folding her hands in front of her awkwardly. Klaus coughs.

"Yes." Luther says, and his tone is too formal to ever think he was talking to one of his siblings. Vanya nods slowly, chewing her cheek and glancing at the ground.

"Vanya! Sister dear!" Klaus suddenly pipes up, approaching her and putting his hands on her shoulders. He shakes her a little, a grin on his face. The grin soon melts into something akin to a pout. "I'm being told that I'm gonna be an omega by some unkind souls," He glances over his shoulder, probably at Diego or Allison, "And I want to know what you think." Vanya raises her brows, taken aback in a million different ways by this exchange.

"I think.." She mutters, glancing in a random direction. "The unkind souls are right." A little smile appears on her face. Teasing. She never gets the chance, and it's like a little warmth settling in her chest when Klaus reacts, all shocked eyes and a faux scoff of betrayal. Laughter erupts from everyone else, and Vanya feels a deep sense of validation.

"I told you!" Diego practically barks, coming up behind Klaus and ruffling his hair with such brotherly force. Klaus begins to argue, pushing Diego back. Soon, they're tangled in a wrestling match on the floor, and Vanya can't help the little giggles that bubble up her throat. 

Just for a moment, she feels included. Just for a short, sweet little moment.

"Children!" Mom calls, and everyone perks in the direction of her voice. "It's time. Line up in front of the infirmary, your father is waiting." She says, and then the click of her heels can be heard retreating down the hall. Diego and Klaus scramble to their feet, then pretty much vault down the stairs, sprinting to the infirmary. Luther and Allison take their time, talking amongst each other as they make their way down the steps and through the hall. Vanya doesn't go- not right away, at least. She's loitering at the balcony, her insides churning with anxiety and maybe even fear. 

This will reinforce what her siblings think of her. She'll be an omega, and that'll give them one more reason to treat her as weak and different. She's not sure if she can handle it, not now. If it was her choice, she'd put off getting her rank. Put it off until she knew she could handle the backlash.

But nothing is ever her choice, is it?

She sighs to herself, heart thumping against her ribcage, and starts down the stairs. Every step makes her want to retreat back to her room more and more, but she doesn't. She presses on, until she's standing in a neat line with her siblings, directly behind Allison. The wait will be torture, she thinks, because she knows how these things go.

Diego gets into the infirmary first, and he's in there no longer than five minutes before he emerges. There's a smug grin plastered to his lips, and Vanya can already tell that he's an alpha before he says it. Klaus crosses his arms and blows a raspberry in Diego's direction right before mom pulls him in for his assignment. The movement in their little line has Vanya stepping forward, and she swears she's getting woozy. She doesn't want to be here. She doesn't want this. She's going to be sick.

"No! Do it again!" Comes Klaus's shrill, whiny tone through the infirmary door. "It glitched, or something."

"Blood tests don't glitch, Number Four." Reginald replies. Vanya can't hear it, but her mind supplies the huff that Klaus must have given. "Now, run along so we can test the others."

Klaus emerges, not looking at any of his siblings. His head is kept down. He's an omega, Vanya thinks, because that's the only thing that would make him react so strongly. He doesn't declare his rank in a wave of egotistical pride like Diego, rather, he silently makes his way up the stairs to his room. Luther is next, disappearing behind the closed infirmary door like Diego and Klaus before him.

"I know you're nervous." Allison says, and Vanya looks at her blankly. She's turned to face her, expression all soft around the edges. It seems genuine, which almost makes Vanya more nervous.

"Yeah, uh.. I don't know. Ranks are just one more thing, you know?" She says, and Allison gives a little nod. Vanya doesn't think she knows the meaning of the statement, but her concern means a lot anyway. Their moment is broken when Luther comes out, his expression very neutral.

"Beta." He says, and there's something akin to shame in his tone. Diego is an alpha, but Luther isn't. Another ounce of strain on their relationship, which is already at a breaking point. Vanya is surprised they haven't killed each other yet, but this might just do it. Luther leaves up the stairs, much like Klaus, his shoulders sagging. Vanya can see in Allison's eyes that she wants nothing more than to leave and comfort Luther, but she's nothing if not obedient.

And then Vanya is alone, where her thoughts and anxieties can swallow her whole and spit her out as some shell of a person. There's no distractions to keep her fears from gripping her by the neck and squeezing until she can't even breathe. It's only about five minutes, but it feels like an hour. An hour of her standing in the empty hall, hearing her own blood rush inside her ears. Her thoughts are deafening, scorching the inside of her head.

Ordinary. Worthless. Less than everyone. Beneath everyone. The scum on the bottom of Sir Reginald Hargreeves' shoe.

Omega.

Suddenly, she can't breathe. Everything is spinning and she can't breathe. Her heart is racing, pounding like it's trying to escape her chest. She can't feel her fingers, they're numb. It's all so exhausting, and she thinks it might be better if she just passes out, letting her cheek hit the hard, cool floor-

The infirmary door opens, and Allison steps out. She looks unbothered, and Vanya can't tell what she's thinking.

"Beta." She says, just for her sister. A nod is all that Vanya can muster, and she's sure she looks like a deer in the headlights who's also in the midst of an anxiety attack. Allison leaves, so it's Vanya's turn. She doesn't want to do it. She can't do it, she-

"Number Seven." Reginald's voice is cold, chilling her to the bone. Irritation is evident in his tone, so she doesn't hesitate to step inside the infirmary like her siblings before her. She's thankful that it's not stark white, like all regular hospitals. It just looks like another room in their home, which still isn't comforting, but it's better than other things.

She sits down on the examination table. Mom is preparing a needle to draw blood, sterilizing it carefully. "Hold out your arm, dear." She says, and Vanya complies, straightening her right arm with her palm facing upward. Her hands are trembling, her palms damp with sweat as mom ties a rubber band around her upper arm, searching for a vein.

It's such torture, waiting through the process. She has no fear of needles like Diego, so the pinch of it going into her vein is nothing, but its implication is everything. She watches the deep red liquid squirt into a little vial, which mom detaches from the needle and hands to Reginald. He goes to the side of the room, where a blood panel, amongst other things, resides. Mom pulls out the needle, sticking a swab of cotton over the tiny little wound and wrapping it up with a bandage. Vanya pays no attention, watching Reginald almost as if she's in a trance.

Omega. Worthless. Less than everyone. Scum. Stupid. Ordinary-

"Alpha." Reginald declares, unphased. Ranks always meant nothing to him, and he was doing this for press, not to mention it was legally required.

Vanya freezes. There's absolutely no way. She can't be. It's not even possible, there must be a mistake, it has to be a fluke.

She's shaking like a leaf, hugging herself tightly. It's all too much, and she doesn't know what to do with the information. She still doesn't even believe it, really, but she knows Reginald will refuse if she asks to be tested again.

"Are you feeling okay?" Mom asks, placing a gentle hand on Vanya's back. She nods, though it's so clearly a lie.

"A little woozy from getting my blood drawn. I'm okay." She whispers, as if she's trying to convince herself of the fact. There's no truth in the statement, since the amount of blood taken from her was so miniscule, and not enough to do anything to her. Mom buys it, though, and begins to clean up the supplies. Vanya can't bring herself to move from the examination table, and Reginald has to force her out of the infirmary.

She feels vacant from her own body as she walks up the stairs. All the bedroom doors are closed, though she can hear murmurs through them. Life goes on.

She's at the top of the steps when Diego emerges from Klaus's room, Klaus on his tail with a discontent expression. They look at her expectantly, and it takes her at few moments to realize that they're asking a silent question.

"I'm an alpha." She says, almost under her breath. For a split second, there's no reactions, but then Diego laughs. He just laughs, like he's been told the funniest joke of today's culture, and Vanya's stomach turns. "I'm not joking." She adds, and there's something distraught in her tone. This makes Diego stop, and for his laughs to turn into more of a bewildered expression.

"Come on!" Klaus pipes up dramatically, waving his arms in some wild gesture. "You're an alpha? And I'm a fucking omega? None of this makes sense!" He laments, and Vanya finds it humorous, smiling a little but not laughing.

"Well, congrats sis." Diego finally says, and Vanya looks at him with confusion in her eyes. She expected to be shunned even more as a result of this. "We're the two alphas of the house," He says, slinging an arm around her shoulders, "Not saying I expected it, but it's kinda neat. I wasn't looking forward to alpha fights with Luther. Good thing he's just a beta." He adds, a hint of a triumphant grin on his face.

"Your ego is gonna make your head explode." Klaus says to Diego, brows creased. Diego sticks out his tongue. "But yes, congrats to you my dear sister. You've left me as a stupid lone omega." He sighs, and Vanya finds herself giving a bit of a laugh. She expected far worse reactions, though Allison and Luther are a different story. For now, though, this is okay. She's okay.

She doesn't have a lot of faith in her siblings, but in the long run, they always seem to help with the big stuff.


End file.
